Send check or money order to Firing Order Magazine, 1545 Heights
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Notes from the Ol Tripper...
Well... issue #2 is in the can & we’re headed on down
the road... again! I want to thank all the koool peeps I
met along the way & the kats & kittens who sent in their
koool stories, photos & encouragement! Hot rodders
are indeed a very koool & sharing group and most have
never met a stranger. I had a great time meeting so
many of you & rockin’ my cars out on the open road &
yes...I saw some of the USA in my Chevrolet!!! Can’t
wait to see what’s up just around the bend so until next
time... keep the shiny side & the rusted side UP! ; - >

Contents
6
8
10
12
18
20
22
26
28
30
32
34
38
40
44

Rat Patrol
Reader’z Photoz
Off the Wall
Rumble In The Park
1936 Diamond T PU
1964 Ford Fairlane
Burnout Houston
Reader’z Ridez
1955 Lincoln Capri
1955 Ford F-100 PU
Garage Scene
Chad Hiltz & Friends
Demons Car Club
Bonehead Tech
Calendars
Cover Photo: Morgan Phillips (Yep Graphix)
All content herein is Copyright by the publisher (Old Tripper Media). All rights reserved worldwide.
No part of the publication may be copied or used without prior written permission from the publisher. We reserve the right to edit, comment, title and departmentalize submissions. Submissions are
considered copyright assigned to the publisher for publication. The publisher is not liable for claims
or statements by contributors or advertisiers. For questions or comments call the Ol Tripper directly
at... 713.875.7049.
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l
o
r
t
a
P
t
a
R
hillip’s
Donald P

Owner/builders: Donald & Nichole Phillip

Photos: Morgan Phillips

Donald Phillip found this 1933 Ford truck cab on a farm in Starlight, Pa.

He stopped to ask about it then managed to buy it and put it in the back of
his buddy’s truck. The project really began as a father / daughter project.
He had just gone through a divorce and had full custody of 3 young daughters. His middle daughter Nichole never left his side and always wanted to
be in the garage with him. He taught her how to weld when she was just 9
and she helped him with every aspect of the truck (chopping, sectioning,
wrenching, painting) Nichole would sit for hours looking thru magazines,
watching car shows with her dad and searching eBay for the latest parts
they needed throughout the project. Donald started the project with the
idea he would chop and section the cab and sell it on ebay, but his daughter fell in love with the project. The more involved she got the harder it became to flip it. Once they finished the truck Donald found an old Coke ice
box from the 50’s that became their next project as a trailer for the truck.
The whole family is totally involved in showing the truck now.
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Bench bomber seat custom made by Frank Wallic

The truck is built on a modified TCI frame, chopped 4” and
channeled 4”. Runs a Chev 350/350 back to a Jag rearend.
The bomber bench was custom made by Frank Wallic of Denver, CO & has over 1500 brass rivets. It has Dolphin gauges,
a B&M shifter, has a camouflage headliner and his Grandfather’s Purple Heart is proudly displayed inside the cab!
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Photo: Flipper

Readerz Fotoz

Snappin' Old Tin
Every Day!

Photo: Gary Bagley
Photo: Justin and Kristin Sprague

Photo: Heath Hartwig ~ Bombshell Art Studio

Photo: Jacob Graham

Got a kool foto to share?
Send it to...
FiringOrderMag@gmail.com

Photo: Eric Miller

Photo: Moose Jones

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Photo: Monica Strong

Photo: Billy Etie

Photo: Mark Fiorella

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Off The Wall

Marc Petiet’s
Rusty Rocket
Marc Petiet hails from Wijk aan Zee, Hol-

land, home of the oldest running soapbox race in Holland since 1947! When his
daughter wanted to enter the race he built
her a soapbox car and decided to built one
for himself as well.
He actually had to compete alone that first
year because his daughter was one year too
young. His first effort didn’t work out very
well and was slow because the wheels he
used didn’t spin freely enough. Then a colleague told him that they were parting out a
‘59 Olds ragtop that they kinda accidentally
won on eBay and BOOM... the idea for a
ratty soapbox rocketship with chrome and
fins was born!
That winter he cut his old frame in half, shortend & mounted “new” wheels that came
from two wheelchairs that where scraped by
a local rehabilitation center!
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Owner/builder: Marc Petiet ~ Wijk aan Zee, Holland

Marc worked hard to fit the pannels he had
to make the body and used parts of the front
fenders, rear fenders and tailights and parts
of the bumpers and parking light to form the
body and bumpers.

W ijk aan Zee,
Holland

The seat is from an old couch, the steering
wheel is an old sportstering wheel from a
Volkswagon rabbit, and an old angle-grinder
head was used for the side steering construction.
The build was done over a period of four
years, mostly in winter or shortly before a
race and like most projects is still a work
in progress! A custom trailer was built for
the soapbox so Marc and family can enter
more soapbox races in Holland in the future.
Marc’s son will soon be of age to race the
downhill so expect a new built in the near
future!
Marc calls it his creation the “Rusty Rocket”!
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accomodate multiple styles of cars.
The main area was for hot rods, ratVictoria and my truck was running
tys and kustoms but there was also a
like a top! I didn’t know what to exnice section for muscle cars and anpect out of the first show the Victoother for 4-bys & lowriders. The venria chapter of the Hellions Car Club
ue had a large stage where bands
was having but I’m always game &
rocked the day away with a parade
set out to have a good time! I was
of beautiful Betties! ; - > Besides the
pleasantly surprised when I got
car show they had Extreme Midget
there. The event was held at Riverside Park which is a perfect descrip- Wrestling, a scavenger hunt, swap
meet, battle of the bands and the
tion... a beautiful park by the river
crowd favorite... Miss RIP pinup conside, a killer venue IMO. Instead of
test! It was family friendly with lots of
a hot parking lot... it was on a huge
stuff to keep the kiddos happy. I was
grassy area with lots of trees & the
shade was welcome because I forgot surprised how successful the show
to bring my tent. The show was very was and definitely can’t wait till next
organized and had several areas to year! Kudos to the Hellions CC!!!

It’s a easy drive from Houston to

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Rumble In The Park

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Tom Massimin’s

Shovelhead

Duane Meyers’
Owner/builder: Tom Massimin ~ Houston, TX

A few years back Tom Massimin was havin’ a few beers with a friend
when his buddy said he had an old shovelhead just gatherin’ dust in
his garage. A few beers later... Massimin was the proud owner of a
HD shovel. He’d always wanted one and like so many projects... then
it sat around in his garage collecting dust for 4 more years!
Vacations, Burning Man. Colorado on his newer Evo... things just
seemed to get in the way. Finally, around the first of 2006 he decided
to start building the shovel, thinking “How hard can it be”? Just get a
frame, rebuild the motor, stick it in the frame, go for a ride... right?!
Massimin had the motor completely rebuilt with double plug heads
and some other lil tricks to bring the shovel to life. Since he always
wanted an old school bike he decided to go with kick-start only and a
jockey shift, which then of course required a foot operated clutch. Now
this all sounds easy but making all the pieces fit together proved to be
quite a chore but Massimin was not to be denied!
Then... an accident! After the wreck, the bike was a mess! Handlebars destroyed, pegs bent, gas tank badly dented, kick starter broken
and worst of all... oil was leaking from the engine cases. What to do?!
Rebuild man, rebuild was Massimin’s mantra. So the engine was back
off to the machine shop where some S&S cases, S&S double plug
heads and S&S dizzy were used to bring the engine back from the
dead. Tom says the bike runs like never before and starts on the first
kick (usually), gets 50 mpg and would cruise at 100 all day long if his
backside could take it. He also says the bike doesn’t drip a drop of oil
from engine, tranny or chain. Can this be a real shovelhead? Haha!
Massimin is currently working on a ‘36 Ford coupe... stay tuned!
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Duane Meyers was nine when he saw a rusted out Mustang

fastback and it was love at 1st sight. As he got older he was torn
between a fastback or convertible. His best friend, at the time, said
“You can get more girls into a convertible”, so convertible it was!
With a little help from his mother and grandfather, he was able to
buy this car right before his 16th birthday in ‘85. His friend was
right! He drove the cheerleaders in several Homecoming & Go
Texans parades in his hometown of Willis, TX. Yep.... you CAN get
a lot of girls in a convertible!
During his college years the car went into storage. It wasn’t a
matter of reliability but rather his folks were afraid he would spend
more time on the car than on books (they were probably right).
After college, Duane relocated to Austin and shortly thereafter, the
car was relocated to Austin too. While getting the car back roadworthy, one thing led to another and he ended up tearing the car
all the way down. Problem was, having the time and money to put
it back together. In ‘99 he had a career change and it was packed
up and went untouched for several more years.Then came marriage and a baby carriage.
In 2008 he started working on the car again but soon realized he
needed help and took the car to Classic Mustangs of Houston.
Finally... after 26 years he drove the Mustang of his daydreams
home in late October 2011. Next he installed a T5 to back up the
balanced and blueprinted 302ci. Now the car is a delight to drive!
What’s next? His grandfather’s ‘41 Chevy Special Deluxe Business Coupe. Hopefully it won’t take 26 years to finish this time!

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On weekends Mike Tyler’s parents used

to stop at an old farm house to buy county
butter. In a shed beside of the house was
a model AA Ford truck and he had daydreams about fixing it up.
Fast forward 30+ years, Mike and family
enjoy camping at the beach and other places in their travel trailer. A lot of people start
out with a pop-up camper... then something
a little larger and then a little larger still.
Keeping up a vehicle that will safely tow
your rig can be a challenge so Mike started
searching on eBay for “Trucks” and began
to notice old Diamond T trucks that seemed
to look similar to the AA Ford but were a
little more streamlined. He purchased the
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truck on Ebay for $1500.00 and took possession.
It sits on a Z’d 92/P-30 motor home
chassis. The Cummins 5.9 motor came
from a donor 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 and
continues to run well, uses no oil and
pulls the family camper very easily.
Mike stretched the hood four inches and
the cab six inches for legroom. For comfort it has Vintage Air A/C and Ride Tech
front bags as well as their RidePro e3
Control System and compressor. The rear
end is a Dana 70 with disc brakes and the
truck currently rides on 19.5” wheels and
tires. The truck has extendable mirrors for
towing as well as power windows. Sweet!

Photos: Michaelia Tyler

A lil sumpin’ to pull your travel trailer!

Owner: Mike Tyler

A monster bed is currently being fabricated.
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e
n
a
l
r
i
a
F
4
6
19

h’s
c
n
u
B
y
e
r
Jef f

Owner/builder: Jeffrey Bunch

Jeff Bunch has owned this car for 22 years now. When Jeff

was 16 he had a Falcon but things never seemed to go right
with the car so his father bought him this ‘64 Fairlane as a
surprise. The car only had 49,000 original miles and ran like
a top. Jeff loved the Fairlane so the Falcon slipped into the
background.

Jeff wanted it lower so he immediately cut the front springs
and put blocks out back but the pipes kept scraping on Baltimore’s bad streets so he knew something had to change.
Then he met some local guys who had hydraulics on their
cars. That seemed problematic for a unibody car but wasn’t
gonna stop Jeff. To solve that problem he built a full frame
under the car and installed hydraulics. He drove it like that for
a while but eventually decided more power was needed! Enter
a Mustang 5.0/T-5/8” posi with 3.73 gears. Jeff then drove this
configuration for several more years. As he got older and had
kids... the Fairlane started to sit around the garage more and
more.
About a year ago he decided a major face lift was in order
so he gutted the interior, ripped the wiring out, pulled the trim,
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Photos: Dennis Greensfelder

and started redoing everything better than the first
time. Next he ripped out the hydraulics and put
in an Airpod... more reliable for a “family” car! He
never really liked the taillights so he split the rings
and dropped them in deep. He freshened up the
motor, hid all the wiring and updated the stereo.
He had two Harley gas tanks laying around and
decided to build a console out of them. His best
friend came over and thought he was on drugs but
ended up really liking the final product.
The PPG basecoat/clearcoat with pearl and
silver micro flake paint job had held up really well
over the years so Jeff just wet sanded the car top
to bottom and buffed it out. He then acid dipped
all the trim, grill and bezels to remove the anodizing from the factory and polished everything. Next
he had the interior done in all white with green
stiching and chrome piping and added pinstriping.
He struggled with wheel selection but finally decided on stock wheels with a small green pinstripe
accent and 1” white walls. Finally... he and the
family are ready for the 2013 show season!!!
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Burnout is sort of a tradition here in
H-town. Burnout is put on by the very
active Los CoChinos Car Club and is
open to cars and motorcycles... pre64! The venue is cozy and mainly inhabited by locals and local car clubs.
It’s a pretty informal show and tailgating is par for the course but they also
have yummy food for sale and this
year even a desserts van... sweeeet!
And what would a show be without
bands, bands & more bands who
rocked the stage all day long!? The
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Los CoChinos rock tons of shows in
force and have some very beautiful
cars (see above), most of which are
old-school taildraggers. They have
quiet a following and always draw
a crowd. And there’s always plenty of action on the perimiters of the
show and a constant parade of kats
crusin’ the party to see and just been
seen on the street out front. Like... I
DID get it running but I’m just passin’
through suckers! And yes... even a lil
obligitory ‘Burnout’ now & again!
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Burnout

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Reader'z

Ridez

Reader'z Ridez

Wade Hugoe’s dad passed away in 2009. His

‘41 Chevy pickup
Owner/photos: Wade Hugoe

‘59-’70 Volkswagan Beetle
Owner/photos: Jason Haas
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dad always loved old trucks so when Wade
started to build a ratty in 2010 he knew he
had to build a truck and found this cab in the
local paper for $200 dollars. The ‘41 Chev is
chopped 5 inches and sports a homemade
2x3 tube frame, 10 bolt rear and Speedway
front axle kit. Wade’s dad had a 1950 dodge
panel out back so that’s what he used for his
hood and the grill is from a Case tractor. The
drivetrain is a Chev 350/350/10 bolt and seats
are from an old VW. He bought the hub caps
at a thrift store for 10 bucks and added the
spinners. The tonneau cover is old S&H Green
Stamp sign. He used head lights from an old
Kenworth and ‘59 Cadddy tail lights.

Jason Hass bought a partially chopped bug
pieced together from a ‘59, ‘68 and a ‘70
from a friend of a friend. It has a built and
stroked 1600cc motor and an 8” front extension with no brakes. Like an old school race
car it has rear brakes only. He started the
bomber theme with an aluminum and plexiglas roof panel with scaled down 50 caliber
machine guns that he made from aluminum
tubing. He got into Volksrods like most guys,
a love of ‘30s and ‘40s American cars, but
with an extremely limited budget VW’s were
the ticket. His rule is pretty much... if he can’t
fab it himself, the car doesn’t need it!

‘46 Ford Truck
Owner/photos: Blake Kelso

‘66 Chevy Sport Van
Owners/photos: Paul & Tyler Walsh

It was love at 1st sight for Blake Kelso when he
saw this ‘46 Ford PU. He said he knew he was
on the right track when his son didn’t really care
for it! It sits on a Z’d Model A frame with TransAm disk brakes & manual S-10 steering box.
It’s powered by a Chev 305/T400 combo back
to a 10-bolt Poncho rear with ladder bars & air
shocks. The bench seat is from an old Blazer,
the floors are old road signs & license plates. It
has a B&M shifter, cup holders, house hinges on
the doors with dead bolts, and old wrenches for
door handles! The bobbed bed is from a ‘55 Chev
sporting a fuel tank made from an old fuel barrel.

In late 2006, Paul Walsh’s son, Tyler, spotted this
van on the way home from hockey practice in a
driveway near their house. Paul eventually stopped
by to ask the owner what was up with the van. After
hearing it’s storied past and helping the elderly
owner get it running again, he wound up purchasing
the van and Paul and his son brought it back to it’s
current condition with the help of the Vanners Car
Club from Chicago, Peoria, and Wisconsin. Last
season Paul and Tyler racked up over 20,000 miles
in 6 states attending car shows and cruise nights,
earning 30+ dash plaques and a good number of
trophies. The van is currently at a custom/van shop
in St. Louis called Rt.66 Ridez getting the front end
rebuilt as well as several other projects in hopes of
making a good showing at the 2013 Van Nationals
in Old Washington, Ohio next July.
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Michael Riley’s

1955 Lincoln Capri

Michael Riley of Houston, Tx has loved 50’s cars
since he was a kid. His 1st car was a ‘50 Ford 2
door sedan. His 2nd car was a ‘54 Lincoln Capri
4-door sedan, almost like the one he has now,
but with a Continental Kit. He was 15 at the time,
slicked his hair back and wished he could have
lived in the 50’s. He always loved the era, with
the cars, clothing, hair, and do-wop music. Kids at
school teased him saying... dude its not the 50’s
any more.

So when this ‘55 came up for sale on Craig’s List
a few years ago he didn’t quite have the money but
went to look at it anyway! After constant negotiating... 3 months later he was able to get the asking
price down and strike the deal!
Michael hasn’t done much to the Lincoln, but knew
he wanted it to be a Mild Kustom. He pretty much
went through the whole car and rebuilt the brakes,
carburetor, generator, starter, new exhaust, water
pump, put on new wide whites, painted the wheels
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red then added some cool bullet center caps and
lug nuts. His friend Frank Palmer, a member of the
Beatniks, shot the scallops and the roof with a single stage dark blue hue, and accented them with
bright red pin stripes.
Next up was the interior. Michael shopped around
to have the seats redone like original and finally
chose B & B Custom Upholstery who did a fabulous job, Next up is new carpeting.
The engine’s a stock 341ci V8 with 225 HP from
the factory and has the 1st Ford built Automatic
transmission. ‘54 and earlier were all GM Hydros.
The car came with power steering, power brakes,
power windows, 4 way power seat, power antenna, brake indicator light, window washers, dual
heaters, automatic lubrication system, and Factory Air Conditioning which is in the trunk. The A/C
vents come up though the back into the headliner
to chrome vents! The car also retains the original
6V electric system! Ridin’ Old skool! ; - >

Dude...
It’s not
the 50’s
any more!
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Don Pitt’s

D

on Pitt of Houston, Tx has owned this truck a long time!
He purchased the ‘56 Ford F-100 in March of 1976 just two
days after moving to Portland Oregon from Southern California. He went looking for work a few weeks before moving
and a friend mentioned he had seen an F-100 big window,
well you could say it was love at first sight! He had to have
it! It was in rough condition and the 390ci Ford motor was
blown, it didn’t have a hood, had lots of bondo but he towed
it home anyway, He thinks the guy he bought it from felt sorry for him because the next day he gave him the drivetrain
from a ‘66 T-Bird, all he had to do was get it out of the car
himself and then return the T-bird.
His good friend Bruce Cormack helped with the motor/
tranny change and he drove it just like that for 6 years. In
‘82 I moved to Houston and towed the truck there where
he’s been making improvements every since. Don and
another friend, Bob Leslie, did the frame work in his driveway in 1985, and Jay Harington helped with installing a big
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block Chevy that same year. Tim at T & M Performance did a lot of work on it in 2005 such as
Gas Tank, Steering Box, Front Disc Brakes and
Oliver’s Transmission did the 350 Turbo transmission. David at Dutchman Kustoms did the
Body work and Paint, Craig Duron did interior at
Texas Upholstery in Tomball.
He’s enjoyed this truck immensely over the
years and continues to drive it as much as possible, He enjoys taking it to car shows like Lone
Star Round Up in Austin, Burnout Houston, Niftee 50ee’s, Texas Hoedown and other car shows
in Houston area.
Don also thanks Bruce Cormack, Bob Leslie, Jay
Harrington, Tim & Scott McLauglin, “Dutch” and
Roger Martinez for all their help over the years!
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Garage Scene
Luke Seltvedt ~ Rapid City, SD

Larry Parks (l) & Scott ”Hillbilly” Koelle (r) ~ Altoona,PA

Kenny Allen ~ Chesterfield, VA

Jeff Lyons ~ Chappell Hill TX

Kevin Czarnowsky ~ Woodbridge, VA

Philip Arrington & Reno DeBon ~ McCloud, CA

Ronnie Perrin ~ Elwood, IN

Micah Supanchick Harrisburg OR

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& FRIENDS!

Friends & Models: Mary Jane Forrest (l) / Heather Reed (r)

Chad Hiltz didn’t always want to be a custom

car builder. As a teenager Chad’s main pastimes included collecting antiques (today, his
barns are covered with dozens of cool, nostalgic signs), looking at antique cars, fighting,
and getting kicked out of school. Chad’s first
antique car, at the age of 14, was a ’46 Dodge
pickup. At 16, he entered a vocational school to
learn bodywork - this lasted 3 months.
After bouncing around the streets of Nova
Scotia for several years, and getting fired from
a local chicken processing plant, Chad decided it was time to do something he truly enjoyed
- working on cars. He started doing bodywork
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repairs, and slowly became interested again
in antique cars. In 2008, he heard that Gene
Winfield was coming to Dartmouth Nova Scotia to give a custom bodywork workshop - roof
chopping. This was to become the turning point
in his career and life.
With the skills he learned from Gene, as well
as hearing that Gene was coming to the 2009
Atlantic Nationals in Moncton, NB, Chad took
to customizing a 1960 Chrysler. He chopped
the roof, added two giant 50’s styles fins, lake
pipes, whitewalls, and named it “The Bat Out
of Hell.” Unfortunately he ran out of time and
could only get the car in primer. Chad drove the

‘Story & Photos: Rodger Evans ~ “HiDefRods”

Chad Hiltz

3.5 hours to Moncton, was able to show Gene
what he had accomplished, and came home
with two trophies!!! From that point on Chad
was hooked on building custom cars that were
different than everyone else.
Since then he has built some of the most original hotrods ever produced in Atlantic Canada.
His next project started as a ’39 Plymouth four
door humpback that was given to him for free.
He chopped and modified the body into a two
door, suicide coupe named “A Way to Heaven.”
Chad’s further twist on the traditional hotorod?
The ’39 rakes backward, rather than forward
like many hotrods you see. (cont)
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Model / Ray Gun Sharpshooter: Mary Jane Forrest
The car is powered by a Mustang 302, has
a Jeep Cherokee rear end (his favourite
because of their gear ratios), and an original 40’s front end that he cut out of a car he
found in the woods on its roof. Although the
interior is a little sparse (two tractor seats),
the car is built to drive with power disk
brakes and power steering.
Chad’s next project started as a steel ’34
Ford stock car body that he found chopped
in half in the woods. Chad built a custom
frame, installed a Volvo independent front
end, Jeep Cherokee rear end, and powered it with a flathead from a ’50 Merc. To
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“top it off”, Chad made a home made mold
and heated a 3/8” thick sheet of plexiglass
to 375 degrees for 30 min. The result was
what Chad thinks is the first (and maybe
only) hand blown bubble top in Canada.
The final futuristic touches on “The Canning
Kid” were to place two headlights vertically
in the custom grill shell, and build a custom
dash using parts from a 1962 Chrysler.
What’s next for Chad??? He’s just finishing
an all steel (15 sheets of hand-rolled 18
gauge steel) two door (suicide), removable hardtop coupe that’s his interpretation
of James Hetfield’s “Slowburn” fiberglass
Auburn Roadster. It’s powered by a 300

Buick Nailhead with three deuces, has a
completely custom frame that rides on a
Camaro rear end and Heidt’s Superide front
end. Ride height and stance are controlled
by Hairpins and an Air Ride system. When
asked where his ideas come from Chad
says “I see the cars pictured in my head
and they look cool.” His then begins the
build process by making sketches on the
wall of his garage. His next project has now
reached “stage two”, right next to the garage light switch...

Photography: Rodger Evans ~ “HiDefRods”

Chad Hiltz

Chad Hiltz as himself
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The Demons Car Club
Houston Chapter

Founder ~ Richard Seibert

Current Pres. ~ Dennis Hom

Conroe, TX
I kept seeing the Demons at shows all over Texas

and finally got to meet all of them at a lil get together &
BBQ... these hot rodders can BBQ up some really tasty
ribs... Tejas style! I have to say... the Demons really
show up but I wonder if it’s not just for the BBQ!!! ; - >
Richard Seibert founded the Demons in 1957 in Cahokia, Illinois while attending high school. The original 15 members all lived in a neighboring town called
Maplewood Illinois where Richard created the Demon’s
logo and made the first Demons plaque. As the original
bi-laws read, the club was founded out of the love of the
automobile and to promote safe driving practices due to
the bad reputation teenagers were currently being given.
To date it is thought that approximately 4-5 original
members are still alive across the country.
The Demons Car Club was resurrected in April of 2007
when Richard’s son-in-law, Danny Verinder, completed
the build on his ‘28 Ford Sedan. Upon completion of the
sedan Richard gave Danny one of two plaques that he
still had from the original club, along with the original bi
laws. At that time, The Demon’s - Houston Chapter, was
born. Since that time the club has grown to 21 members
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(spouses included)….and 13 cars. The club has one
President and one Vice President. The President helps
to lead the direction of the club. Presidential terms run
for 2 years and then either a new President can be voted
in, or a past President or even the current President can
be re-elected and only current and past Presidents can
vote. Requirements to join the club are simple. You must
love cars, own a currently operational American made
car ‘57 or older, believe that you should drive your car
more than trailer it, as trailer queens are not allowed in
the club. Paint is optional. You must be willing to help
other club members on projects whenever possible, attend at least 2 club functions per year as well as be willing to help out potential future members of the club work
on getting their own car together so that they can join.
Their goal is to have fun and share their love for old cars
with each other and the general public. Original rules
fined members 25 cents for not coming to meetings! ; - >

I love to DIY and it just makes your car look more unique when you do so I ask one of the
best fabricators and welders I know to show how he builds basic brackets & stuff. He has
more welding machines than I have cars! See Jeff’s ad on the back page. - Editor -

Drilling holes

Bonehead Tech ~ Bracket building 101
Seems more and more homebuilt hot rods are popping up
all over the place. Many builders are learning to weld during
this process. Today, we will go through the build of a basic
bracket. Well as basic as I can do it, anyway. Sometimes
I’ll start with a template. Foam board works great, but an old
cereal box works pretty well for getting a basic shape. For
this bracket, I just need a shock bolt sized hole in the top and
two bolt holes in the back to bolt on to an existing hole set. I
used the drill press to make all the holes. The extra holes are
purely decorative. I used a center punch for all the holes, but
the ones that have bolts going through are the most important
to get right. I left the back plate as it was, 2 inch by ¼ inch
strap. For the sides, I used the same material, but I sheared
it with my iron worker to an angle. You could cut the angle
with a plasma, torch, angle grinder, or even a hack saw, if
you are ambitious. Now it’s time to fire up the welder. If you
are shopping for a welder, I suggest a 220 amp, name brand,
wirefeed, with mix gas. Sure, there are a million other ways to
go, but, that’s my version of the best set up for hot rod/garage
use. When you “tack” metal together, with those small round
welds used to hold everything in place until you can lay some
beads, you create heat, and as the tack cools it contracts, and
will pull your project out of square. I like tacking on the ends,
because the leverage of the pieces will help hold everything
from moving with heat. When I tack something like this, I put
the bolt through the bolt holes to make sure they will align
later. For this bracket, I put some spacers in between the two
outside plates, after it was tacked, and clamped it together.
This keeps the brackets from not being square after it is welded together. I stepped the plates at the corners, and welded
them inside and out. The step lets me leave more weld, if I
grind the corner smooth. There you have it, a simple bracket.